Locomotive axle drive mechanism



Sept, 20, 1949. w. A. BRECHT 2,482,459

LOCOMOTIVE AXLE DRIVE MECHANISM Filed March 3, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1WITNESS ES: V INVENTOR ATTOR EY Sept. 20, 1949. w. A. BRECHT 2,482,459

LOCOMOTIVE AXLE DRIVE MECHANISM Filed March 3, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2ATTOR Y I/IIIIl/fg" III/III I i 'atented Sept. 2Q, 1949 Wins-trintzA;BretelntgiPittsburEglnatBfl; assiznppito Westinghorsellileetric 2 218121691 Eastrliiti on of Pennsylvama Application Mai-eh fti, 19415,Se'iiiFNpF580W 98 mMy-f'invention relates, generally, ito locomotive drives and moreipartioularlyytogmeans ifori'driviing razplurality ofleeomotive axles firom: one souree Ofiffldiii VB powen such-asia steamor gas turbine.

: -An:object of mysinvention is tonprovidexa :loeo- 1 motive: drivevwhich does 'not arequi-re .othequill mountings candcun drives heretoforeutilizedi-in .rail-wayilocomotives.

There are two reasons for eliminatingthaca!) drive. vIEirst;iitsatorsional.iflexibilitynrnayaprove undesirable-when :two or moreraxles;are niriven by one-turbine. 'iTheatorsionalifiexibility mayiallheiataken upxzin one!directionwr themther if the drivingi-twheelsvonrone axle are v slightly i different inisizezfromzithoseuonanother;- axle. 'tThisw-might resultlin: oneaxleetransmitting.mosttortallsofzthe drivingstorque. esecon'dlygitheeliinination of' the cup drive twill;substantially lowerztheicostzofithe drivingzmechani-sm. i

rAccordin'gly another object;ofrmyiinventiomis to ensure anequalidivis-ionlofztorquecbetweenithe drivingiiaxlesiotialocomotive.

1 A more general obj eet of-my; invention isfito provide a 'locomotivedrive which shall befsimple and: efiicienti in =--operation :an'd iwhiohfimay be economically; manufacturedi andinstalled.

-ther objects ofmy invention will be explained fully hereinafter or'Will-tbeapparent to vthose skilled ini the-art.

In accordance with one embodiment ofmy invention-, "-a* -s-pur gearis'mounted directly on each driving axle and driven bya pinion securedto a shaft on which--is 'mounted a bevel gear which me he with ;ateeondibev lseeanzmeimtedeem a drive shaft disposedlongitudinallwpf;gtheeloeoa motive. The egearsareall,oontainedin a rigidgear case having" bearings on" the "axle. The longitmiinal shafts inactianent gear units are substantiallyin.line and aregioined toeeth ibyflexible couplin s. .-Eachgear.ziini mayztbe u pendedimmfltherlocomotive name by .tw link and; aaIGIQ SfbQEIJIL which eneeesiza trunniomon theugear-gunit.

For a fuller understanding-cattle nature and objects of my invention,reference may be had to the following detailed description takeninconjunctionwith -the accompanying drawing, 3 in which:

"T-igure 1 is a view; partially in-section and partially in sideelevation, of a portion of a locomotive structure having a driveembodying my invention;

Fig. 2- is an enlarged view, partially in section and partially in plan,of the drive for a pair of adjacent axles of the locomotive;

ifl igz'fii issa-Mew eimseetinn, stakenzalong; the;;line

*Fig2l52; 1

zoiewerpantially 1in ;.zsectioniandepar tially i Kndgelevation,ratheesectionfxbeing:2taken alongzthe "line;EL-e-Ifiwftliliga zaiand i F ig.ifiiiiscaneenlargedwieweinnsection,-;ofl-;a flexibleleouplingetandea'niexihleev ilgseal: utilized inztheaidrivingimeehanism.

Refenringotoithe tdrawingse and rpemticularly. 1110 fignletheiportionoflaeloeorrrotivesstruetnre'shown therein;comprises-artxameniflwhichimay b63511} pontedi-inethe msualamanner sbyi driving :wheels; plsecured. oeaxlesetzzaiida guidingztruclcilt. The pontionofitheilocomntive stmqtureeshowmis only one section of thelocomotivetiirame andrdrive; the otherseotiomof:whiehaisrsimilantothe-.oneiillus- :trated, V

.XAS ShOWII'iiID Big 1 ntheiaxles v11:2 mayzbe driven by; amainz'driveggshaftulzl which extends longitudinally: ofiithe"locomotive: and mayrbelconnected toasisteamtttuibineM55;soreotherelsuitablei prime mover.:Theeturbinegriiizmayzlae zconnectedrtosthe drive shaftu hthrongmareversing-e aruunit L6.

f-In ordemtmtransmimtorque firemathe; main drive shaft 5&4:toethmwaxlesxdL-raegean :11 is :provideMdfior eacheone-io'fixthezdriving iaxles 2. .cAs shawniim ii igsstzeandz 3;:eazcheeeaninnit; :11 zoom prisessaespun igean l: 'aiwhiehiis ;mounted;.directly onthe axle I2 andi is-idrivenebynaepinionJLQseecureditoszamauxiliary:shaitrZ I ewhichiis idiSIlOSBd atibiglitranglesitottheniriveszshaft:andmarallel tozthedriving axleefl. "iii he shaft .;-ancb2|;areconnectedrbydaevel gearszflzandzt 3 ,-.one;;of-.,which isiseeune'd tothetshaftil lrandrthmother .obiwvhich iszseeuneditowthezshziftriIflF-hergearsitfl, 1:9, 3Z2 aHdXZ3 are all 1 contained in a gear case 24which iseiournaledionthe=;axle

i I2 and is provided witlusleeveibearingst25..;on: the

axle. i Rollenrhewri-ngs ,zii iamt l-lcareipro 'dediin chm-gearscaseeZk-iiorethe drivershaftivsl i. zrR'oller' be provided for the driveshaft. A suitable oil seal comprising a gasket 32, shown most clearly inFig. 5, may be provided between adjacent gear cases 24, thereby makingit possible to provide oil in the gear cases to lubricate the gears andthe bearings.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 4, each gear unit is suspended fromv thelocomotive frame by a pair of links 33 and a cross beam 34 which engagesa trunnion 35 located at the bottom of the gear unit. Since one end ofthe gear unit is borne directly by the axle I2, and the other end issupported at a single point by the cross bar 34 and the trunnion 35, thegear unit is suspended in a manner similar to the suspension of anaxlehung railway motor.

The upper ends of the links 33 are fastened to the spring bornelocomotive frame, and they may be so located as to minimize themisalignments of the couplings for the shaft I4. The structure is suchthat there is suflicient clearance between the longitudinal shaft l4 andthe axles l2 to prevent them from striking together under maximumdeflection of the locomotive springs.

As shown in the drawings, the gear units for adjacent axles areidentical since the shaft I4 is located along the center line of thelocomotive. Thus, it is necessary to manufacture gear units of only onedesign for a complete locomotive.

With the structure shown, a gear unit can be blocked up and an axle withits wheels dropped out of the locomotive by removing the lower portionof the gear case. If desired, an entire gear unit may be readily droppedout of the locomotive for inspection or repair.

If desired, a slight amount of torsional flexibility may be provided ineither the gear H3 or the pinion IE! to absorb impacts; This may be donein a manner well known in the art by providing spring members betweenthe gear center and the gear rim to afford the desired amount offlexibility.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that I have provided alocomotive drive which is relatively simple in construction and whichensures an equal division of torque between axles which are driven fromthe same power source. The present drive also has sufiicient flexibilityto permit the misalignments encountered during the operation of railwaylocomotives.

Since numerous changes may be made in the above described constructionand different embodiments of the invention may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanyingdrawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a locomotive drive, in combination, a pair of axles, a gear unitfor each axle, each gear unit having a drive shaft disposedlongitudinally of the locomotive and an auxiliary shaft disposedsubstantially parallel to its axle, bevel gear means for interconnectingthe drive shaft and the auxiliary shaft of each unit, spur gears forconnecting each auxiliary shaft to its axle, flexible coupling means,disposed substantially midway between said axles for connecting togetherthe drive shafts of the two units, and a gear case for each unitcontaining all the gears and shafts of said unit, said shafts beingjournaled in said gear case, said gear cases being journaled on theirrespective axle, means disposed at opposite sides of said coupling meansfor individually supporting each gear case from the locomotive frame,each gear case having an open end, said open ends being adjacent, and aflexible seal disposed between said adjacent ends.

2. In a locomotive drive, in combination, a pair of axles, a gear unitfor each axle, each gear unit having a drive shaft disposedlongitudinally of the locomotive and an auxiliary shaft disposedsubstantially parallel to its axle, bevel gear means for interconnectingthe drive shaft and the auxiliary shaft of each unit, spur gears forconnecting each auxiliary shaft to its axle, flexible coupling meansdisposed substantially midway between said axles for connecting togetherthe drive shafts of the two units, a gear case for each unit containingall the gears and shafts of said unit, said shafts being journaled insaid gear case, said gear cases being journaled on their respectiveaxle, swing links disposed at opposite sides of said coupling means forindividually suspending each gear case from the locomotive frame, eachgear case having an open end, said open ends being adjacent, and aflexible seal disposed between said adjacent ends.

3. In a locomotive drive, in combination, a pair of axles, a gear unitfor each axle, each gear unit having a drive shaft disposedlongitudinally of the locomotive and an auxiliary shaft disposedsubstantially parallel to its axle, bevel gear means for interconnectingthe drive shaft and the auxiliary shaft of each unit, spur gears forconnecting each auxiliary shaft to its axle, flexible coupling meansdisposed substantially midway between said axles for connecting togetherthe drive shafts of the two units, a gear case for each unit containingall the gears and shafts of said unit, said shafts being journaled insaid gear case, said gear cases being journaled on their respectiveaxle, a pair of swinglinks disposed at opposite sides of said couplingmeans and a cross bar connecting said links for individually suspendingeach gear case from the locomotive frame, each gear case having an openend, said open ends being adjacent, and a flexible seal disposed betweensaid adjacent ends.

WINSTON A. BRECHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,031,882 Spangler July 9, 19121,132,727 Levin Mar. 23, 1915 2,029,981 Black Feb. 4, 1936 2,245,161Sheppard June 10, 1941 1,367,625 Pender Feb, 8, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 339,110 England Dec. 4, 1930 145,019 SwitzerlandApr. 16, 1931 124,469 Switzerland Feb. 1, 1928

